"Come inside. We've been waiting for you." Jhonas put his arm around Richard's shoulders and directed him to go inside his house, with a warm, friendly smile on his face that continued to appear there.Richard nodded his head with a faint smile on his face. He walked into the place while taking in the entire small house that seemed to contrast with his own, yet miraculously, there was something that made Richard feel very comfortable there.In a place that could be considered cramped with many things and family members living in that one house, Richard found a very rare appearance. He saw the smiles on their faces so friendly that the warmth greeted him gently. Richard felt completely welcomed, not as someone with the background he had, treated with respect because of his status, but more like what he was, as their guest."Meet this, my mom, Maggie." Jhonas pointed to a middle-aged woman in a simple knitted pakiana. Her face clearly showed the lines of life framed by a shady smile tha
Maria smiled sarcastically. "Of course, it's impossible. He doesn't have any friends like that." She confidently said it without noticing the other's faces changed instantly. The woman seemed completely unconcerned with the atmosphere there after her arrival became so different.Richard looked at Jhonas, who lowered his face in shame. Meggi seemed to be still trying to smile. Still, pathetically, while Blake in another chair was holding Ariana's hand and trying to calm her down, the woman seemed to snort sarcastically and tried to maintain her sanity with Blake's help."Never mind, Auntie, yes. It's hard to impress others with what I do, so let's stop talking about it. It's better to talk about what's fun than what I can't accomplish." Jhonas took action. He didn't want to further aggravate the situation. The man, who was quite wise and sincere, chose to lower himself so that the others didn't have to hear unnecessary things that only spoiled the atmosphere.But in fact, what Jhonas s
Maria and Antom stared intently at Richard. Richard immediately realized that the two middle-aged people hated him very much. Neither of them wanted Richard to attend this party. "Hey, shut up!" Maria glared at him. She immediately got up from his chair and was about to approach Richard.However, Anton suddenly grabbed her wrist. He asked Maria to sit back down. "Already, just ignore him! He's just a poor man who doesn't understand anything!"With a forced movement, Maria sat back in her chair. He wanted to tear the face of Richard, who looked so arrogant and annoying. Meanwhile, Anton was still glancing at Richard's face as if he wanted to teach him a lesson, but he didn't want to degrade himself further in front of Richard and make Richard make fun of him even more."He must have a point! I'm sure he wants to embarrass us this time!" Uncle said in a high tone. "The guy seems to read clearly. He must want what we have." He was bragging about himself incoherently in front of Richard.
Realizing that Richard was not playing around with his words that said he would make the party atmosphere more festive, Ariana then walked closer to him. She approached Richard, who had finished his phone call. "You don't have to bother with this, Richard." The woman seemed reluctant and took him to heart. "You're a guest. It's only right that we treat you well instead of making you spend more than we can offer you."Calling a Michelin chef who earned five stars on his cooking was undoubtedly more expensive than eating at the restaurant. Ariana didn't know who Richard was and what his status was. Still, she felt confident that the man was serious and not trying to lie to her, especially since Richard had brought a gift for Latisha, and that alone was a luxury for those who couldn't give a special gift to their daughter."I'm sorry the situation has come to this, but we invited you to come and enjoy the meal." Blake expressed his guilt over a situation that was also not caused by him.
Maria and Anton were dumbfounded by what they saw right in front of them. All that splendor was not a trick but was happening right before them. The million dollars Richard was talking about might not be such a load of crap.Anton lightly nudged Maria's arm, which snapped her out of her reverie, and she turned to him with a confused look on her face that she still couldn't control. "Did you see all that? Could it have cost a million dollars?" Anton remembered well what Richard had talked about, about him showing him how to spend a million dollars in no time.Maria observed it all again. The tent installed there was not an ordinary tent, nor did all the decorations look cheap. Then, the cooking utensils they used were not like those used by street vendors, especially from the appearance of some of the chefs there, as well as the waiters. They all looked impressive. "I can't believe it, but it looks like what he said was real." The woman had been half-whispering, but Richard could hear
Richard looked at her with his forehead furrowed at Maria, who had just said such an absurd thing, the woman who had originally talked about her in a very cynical and judgmental tone. Still, now she was suddenly a middle-aged woman with a sweet way of speaking that also seemed kind, and it was disgusting to Richard."Try to get to know her. I'm sure you'll like it." That awkward smile on her face turned into an unexpected twinkle of excitement.Anton, who was on the other side, also revealed himself and approached me. "Yes, my son is very beautiful. What if you try to meet her? You will definitely like her very much."The two old men looked both gutsy and unabashed. Richard turned his gaze bemusedly in the other direction, glancing at them again as Maria touched his hand slightly, which made him feel annoyed."How are you interested? Or would you like me to contact her and let you talk to her?" Maria did not give up, only because Richard seemed silent and did not give her an answer.R
"Is uncle for real?" he looked excited as he held Richard's arm tightly with his tiny palm.The park Richard mentioned was one of the largest parks in the region. It was built only a few months ago and is now famous nationwide. The place was rarely deserted, even though it was close to where they lived, and almost all of her friends had been to the playground except her because it was an expensive place for her to visit, especially with her family. So Latisha never came there.Richard nodded his head in front of the little boy. "Yes, what you said is true. Later, Uncle will send the tickets to Uncle Jhonas. You can go with the others, too." He was sure the others would happily accompany Latisha to play there later."Thank you, uncle." The little girl pranced lightly, releasing Richard's hand from her grip.Richard chuckled at her joyful and playful behavior, then stood up to turn to Jhons, who had been watching their interaction with questioning eyes. "Someone will meet you later with
Seeing her appear there made Richard feel unlucky. Earlier, he had already dealt with people who had more or less the same attitude as Jasmine, namely Anton and Maria, and now he has also met Jasmine.Trying to avoid her because, for him, poop was better avoided, not because he was afraid but because it was disgusting and dirty. Richard continued his footsteps, but Jasmine, who got out of the car with the help of a man, quickly blocked his footsteps. "What's going on? Are you still poor? Whereas before, you acted like a rich ass when you met me? But what is this?" she kicked Richard from bottom to top with a condescending, cynical look.Richard gave her a cursory glance and still tried to ignore her. He was walking in the other direction, but she deliberately blocked his way. Making Richard blink his eyes in annoyance.He then directed his cold gaze towards Jasmine. "What's wrong with you? Aren't we supposed to act like we don't know each other?" He looked at her strangely while Jasm